For me, the answer is my mother, Emellen Mitchell Estes. Long before I was designing urban spaces or serving as Mayor, she was the one who gave me the “zoning permits” to build imaginary cities in our backyard in Atlanta.
An educator at heart, Emellen was a graduate of two iconic HBCUs—Morris Brown College and Atlanta University, now known as Clark-Atlanta University. She served as a teacher and Principal in the Atlanta Public Schools during the segregated 50s, 60s, and 70s. Despite the challenges of the era, she and my father fostered my passion for art, architecture, and the performing arts.
A tribute to Emellen Mitchell Estes, a dedicated educator and mother, whose influence shaped a legacy in architecture and education.
She didn’t just teach me how to build; she taught me who I was. She shared our rich ancestral history and kept me grounded in faith at the historic Big Bethel AME Church on Auburn Avenue.
I am the architectural designer, urban planner, and graphic & web designer I am today because she believed in the blueprints of my imagination.
The California College of the Arts is closing. On January 13, CCA president David Howse said the 120-year-old San Francisco will conclude operations by the end of the 2026–27 academic year. “After nearly two years of working to resolve the college’s underlying financial challenges, we know this is the necessary step to take,” Howse noted.
CCA has entered an agreement with Vanderbilt University, which will “become the owner of the campus and will establish undergraduate and graduate programming, including art and design programs, at the campus.”
CCA’s student body numbers roughly 1,300 students, which offers Bachelor’s and Master’s of Architecture programs, and has a combined total of approximately 250 students. Keith Krumwiede is dean of the CCA’s architecture division.
News of CCA’s closure comes after the completion of a Surfacedesign in late 2024. The building is on CCA’s campus in San Francisco’s Design District, north of Potrero Hill and just west of Mission Bay.
As per the agreement with CCA, Vanderbilt University will own CCA’s campus, Howse shared. Currently, there is no information as to how it might use, improve, or sell the existing buildings.
Architecture at the California College of the Arts
In 2022, CCA announced the creation of the M. Arthur Gensler Jr. Center for Design Excellence, which was created to encourage diversity within the architecture industry. The center began with $4.7 million in funding from Gensler, Amazon, Z SUPPLY Foundation, and one anonymous benefactor. The center held its first symposium in 2023. There is no news currently about how this work might continue.
Beyond Krumwiede, CCA has a distinguished faculty of architecture educators, including Neeraj Bhatia, James Graham, Janette Kim, AN contributor Vivian Schwab, Craig Scott, Antje Steinmuller, and Emmett Zeifman, among others. Irene Cheng previously taught at CCA before joining Cooper Union as an associate professor. Bhatia, in a 2024 interview with Palmyra Geraki in AN, shared words about the uniqueness of teaching architecture within an art and design school:
“Being in a school of art and design in the Bay Area is like being in a school of activists, because artists on the whole are much more politically motivated and tend to clarify their politics through their work. Being in the vicinity of art practitioners daily reminds all of us that we don’t need to accept the systems we inherit—that we can push back. The generation that’s coming out of school is eager to think about how the discipline can have more agency. I’m really inspired by that energy and by the idea that the role of an architect is almost that of an activist, and an advocate simultaneously that of a designer.”
The U.S. architecture community is now reacting to the news online. David Gissen, who was a professor at CCA for 12 years, told AN: “CCA was an incubator, if not the incubator, for young architects and historians of architecture to develop their ideas. The concepts and projects we developed with our students have gone on to influence the pedagogy at numerous other institutions. Our work will live on in history, like so many other small design schools.”
AN Interior Top 50 architect and recent Best of Design Awards juror, Barbara Bestor of Bestor Architecture, shared her thoughts on LinkedIn: “Very sad to lose this wonderful school in our California design school firmament. I’ve always loved visiting and lecturing there – and as a SCI-Arc alum and board member, I have always felt kinship with its scrappy urban approach to design education. RIP CCA.”
Vanderbilt’s Expansion
Vanderbilt University was founded in Nashville in 1873. The Department of History of Art and Architecture offers an undergraduate Architecture and the Built Environment degree, in addition to a minor. Beginning in the 2027–28 academic year, Vanderbilt will establish undergraduate and graduate art and design programs and other forms of programming in San Francisco.
Today, Vanderbilt operates satellite locations in New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida. Approximately 1,000 Vanderbilt students will be at the school’s new San Francisco campus.
Vanderbilt also plans to operate a CCA Institute at Vanderbilt that will include, among other things, the Wattis Institute of Contemporary Arts, which was established in 2013. It will also maintain CCA archival materials and serve as a vehicle for CCA alumni engagement. Through these activities, Vanderbilt will honor CCA’s longstanding creative mission and maintain a strong presence for art and design education in the Bay Area.
According to Vanderbilt officials, the “new campus also will educate artists, makers and designers whose work bridges creative expression and technological innovation, preparing graduates to translate ideas into cultural, civic and real-world impact.”
“Students will gain immersive learning experiences rooted in one of the world’s most dynamic urban environments,” Vanderbilt’s announcement continued. “Academic programming is in development and will undergo the appropriate accrediting bodies’ review and approval processes.”
CCA’s closure arrives not long after the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was shuttered in 2022. The former SFAI campus today hosts the California Academy of Studio Arts, a new experimental arts center designed by Jensen Architects, Laplace, and Page & Turnbull.
Several of the year’s biggest architecture and design stories, and indeed much of all global news, were driven by US president Donald Trump. Perhaps the most controversial was his plan to extend the White House by building a giant ballroom.
The initial news of Trump’s gilded plans drew over 250 comments, as readers discussed the architectural merits and need for the ballroom.
Schumacher waded into architecture’s culture wars with a paper titled The End of Architecture in the Khōrein journal, which is published by the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory at the University of Belgrade.
“Architecture, as an autonomous, theory-led discipline, has ceased to exist,” he wrote. “The discipline has self-dissolved, eroding its intellectual and professional autonomy under the pressures of anti-capitalist politicisation and woke virtue signalling.”
With Trump championing classical architecture in the USA, the traditional-versus-modernist style debate resurfaced, and we asked: Do people really prefer traditional architecture?
The piece was highly discussed with over 100 comments joining in the debate.
University of Kentucky assistant professor Leen Katrib sparked debate earlier this year when he stated that 20th-century heavyweight architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was not an example to follow.
In an opinion piece, Katrib encouraged people to reassess the master of modernismand learn about the problematic legacy of some of his most significant works.
The fate of loans for architecture students in the USA was also a controversial topic, as the terms of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill mean that borrowing levels will be determined by whether a degree is considered professional or not.
Architecture, along with nursing and accounting, will not be considered “professional degrees”. This decision was criticised by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and much discussed in the comments section.
“The American Institute of Architects strongly opposes any proposal or policy that fails to recognize architects as professionals, particularly when designating which degrees qualify for student loan caps,” said the AIA in a statement.
The design and architecture industries are complex, and making a living from them can be daunting.
How should you navigate the industry as a fledgling?
This is the question we posed to industry leaders – people who themselves have built successful businesses.
Advice from the practical to the existential
Among the architects featured are deconstructivist powerhouse Libeskind and Stirling Prize winner Níall McLaughlin, who established their eponymous studios in 1989 and 1991 respectively.
We also spoke with architects who have found success more recently, such as Ghotmeh, who was this year named on Time magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential rising stars.
Advice ranged from the practical to the existential, although certain time-tested themes carried throughout – master basic skills, build community, stay curious and don’t be afraid to be yourself.
Many of the participants encouraged trying different types of design, while others stressed the importance of having and maintaining “big ideas”.
Over the past two weeks, our Performance Review series highlighting the issues facing architecture and design has sometimes made for bleak reading.
But here we explore how opportunities can still be found in spite of the challenges.
Read on for advice from 12 top architects and designers:
“Be in the room with potential clients” says Sabine Marcelis
“Be authentic and unapologetically yourself. Work hard, be kind and prepare for when luck or an opportunity strikes.
“Opportunities don’t just happen – you have to take an active role in creating them.
“Be in the room with potential clients. Go to the events you are invited to. You never know who you may meet or sit next to at a dinner.
“Face-to-face connections still are so important in establishing bonds that can lead to future work/projects.”
“You need an accountant and you need a lawyer” says Tosin Oshinowo
“The most practical advice I can give is that you need an accountant and you need a lawyer. If you don’t set the right structures from day one, it will create challenges for you in the future. The irony is, yes, having these external parties comes at a cost, but you have to find a way to create that foundational structure. Never think that you can use a standard agreement – every job is bespoke.
“For young designers and young architects, it’s the easiest pothole to fall into because we have finished design school and think we’ve got all the skills to provide the service, but we don’t have the skills to run a business.
“It’s a saturated market, but everybody has a defining factor. You have to find your secret sauce and use it as your marketing tool. The easiest entry into architecture, but the most saturated, is residential – there’s so much competition, which means that the fees you earn on it are low because there is somebody else who will do it a little bit cheaper. That’s not the place any young designer wants to get into.
“Look for collaborations, competitions and working with communities. These might not necessarily be high-paying opportunities, but they will propel your career forward. Civic projects and community-led projects tend to have very good PR – residential, not so much.
“The two things you need to build are a capital base and a profile. You might end up using the more boring projects to pay the bills, but make sure you have work that gives you enough of a presence that you can use that to push your agenda as a practice.
“We are entering the era where the star architect is dead. The next generation of designers needs to be in tune with balance and knowing that they are not at the head of the table – they are one of many parties that need to collaborate to create good architecture that is equitable, sustainable and progressive.
“We are faced with a new age of how AI is going to change our profession. One thing is very clear: it can never replace the jobs that require souls, and we should be mindful of that. We have tools being provided to us that we didn’t have before. We should never allow them to control us, but we can utilise them to our benefit, and architects who understand this very early on are the ones who will survive the evolution.”
“Stop thinking you should wait until somebody discovers you. It’s not going to happen. You make your own luck.
“There seems to be a nervousness about putting your stuff out there. It’s a very different and fast-evolving world; it’s so much easier to get an idea out and test it out in the real world. I’d say, get on with it, don’t hold on to a single idea and keep trying.
“I get a lot of people coming to me for jobs who have spent four or five years at art school and got a portfolio with three ideas in, but I’m like, so what did you do for the rest of the time? These people are frozen in nervousness about getting their ideas out.
“It’s tough because you’re assaulted with exemplars of people who seem successful or have loads of ideas all the time. It gets harder and harder to know what your idea is. I sympathise, but you have to act.
“I tell students to go to parties. Do not ignore the parties, do not ignore your teachers, do not ignore all the workshops and the rest of it. The more people and connections you have, the more that works into your work life in the long term.”
“See as much as you can. Whether visiting a major exhibition or setting up studio visits with artisans and makers, I encourage everyone to be curious, especially when you’re just starting out. Immersing yourself in all kinds of creative practices is the quickest way to educate your eye and find your distinct perspective.
“I recommend getting very good at the basics, becoming a very good listener and then taking risks. There is a lot of sameness out there, so conveying your own point of view is essential. And this is a client service business, so being able to collaborate and exceed expectations will ensure positive word of mouth. When I began, I had to be very clever in executing my vision within budget and trying to see past roadblocks.
“The explosion of AI in the creative realm is already shaping our future. Being adept at leveraging these tools to clarify your own creative voice and supercharging your output will define those who are leading the pack.
“Moments that might seem challenging are the greatest learning opportunities. Lean into the hard times, don’t run away. A creative career is always a process of growth. Be scrappy and get your hands dirty – you will get out what you put in.”
“Students sometimes come to my studio to get advice from me, and I’m always very cautious. A lot of people’s wisdom doesn’t apply anymore. Even in the 10 years since I graduated, the world and education have transformed so much that I may be a dinosaur in the way I run my studio.
“But there are a few things that I always tell [students]. You need stamina – don’t expect quick successes. It’s a slow and long process, so this has to be taken into account and people should not get discouraged.
“People don’t pay attention to who their market is. This is super important and I had to learn it the hard way. It would have made things a lot easier in my earlier years if I had understood who the people purchasing things from me would be, because it’s not only about creativity – if you want to continue, you have to have sales.
“Understand how to sell to whom and in what quantity, and how they make money with that – these annoying calculations that become very normal at some point, but in the beginning, as a young independent designer, everybody completely avoids them because you just focus on making beautiful things.”
“Practice the basics until you are fluent” says Níall McLaughlin
“An in-depth knowledge of construction is indispensable. If you haven’t been taught that in college, teach yourself. It will open up opportunities for you, and you will be confident enough to take them.
“If someone can draw beautifully, make precise models, and do 3D digital work fluently, they will be welcome in any office. Don’t forget to apply to my studio!
“Despite what you hear in the media, there is a market out there for skilful architects who demonstrate mastery of the discipline. Practice the basics until you are fluent, then the world is your oyster.”
“If you don’t have big ideas, you’re already irrelevant” says Daniel Libeskind
“My advice would be to follow what you love and follow your dreams. Don’t get sidelined by concepts that undermine your skills or the folly that doesn’t let you follow what you are really good at.
“To get a job you have to differentiate yourself, not by style or by superficial look, but by a profound path that you’re following.
“There’s always going to be sceptics – people who will tell a young person that they will not succeed, that they will fail if they don’t join the larger crowd, but I think the opposite. If you have something that you want to do, you will be very successful if you don’t listen to them. Of course, there might be some years in the desert, but ultimately you’ll emerge to some freedom with your talent.
“I think the great danger is that people give up and think technology will drive everything they will do, but it’s not that way. It’s we – people who are talented, with ideas, who dream – that will drive that whole development.
“If you don’t have big ideas, you’re already irrelevant, you’re already unnecessary. To be successful, you have to offer something that isn’t just reinforcing the patterns that already exist, but creating something outside of that pattern. It used to be called art, or creativity.”
“Look at the world with genuine curiosity” says Lina Ghotmeh
“Architecture is a way of life. When choosing this path, one steps into a profession that shapes you as a person. It is a calling that urges you to look at the world with genuine curiosity. As an architect, you should nurture that curiosity and allow the world to move through you – so observe, research, and question what shapes the environment around you.
“Originality and depth come from a true commitment to ideas and integrity in practice. Standing out is the result of meaningful work pursued with perseverance. It is not a goal in itself, but a possible outcome of dedicated practice.
“Remember also that studying architecture is not only about eventually establishing your own practice – it is about finding your voice and your convictions within the context that suits you best. A collaborative practice may just be the environment where you can pursue your passion and align with an ethos that allows you to naturally stand out.
“We need architects who can think together, not only in competition. Architects capable of joining forces to bring architectural culture to a wider audience and to make architecture an essential part of every built environment.
“We need architects who are willing to challenge the status quo, who can tackle complexity, who care deeply for their surroundings, and who are ready to leap forward with the technological revolutions ahead of us. See the positive side of the world and build upon it.”
“I think young people now more than ever have an advantage over the older generation with knowledge in digital tools, social media, etc.
“The problem is that too many people listen to what teachers and the industry say is ‘correct’. What the industry teaches is just the same path everyone is taking! Think different – there’s so many things you can do.
“I designed bad things in the start but if I told that to the younger Gustaf, he would probably have stopped trying.”
“Show how you think, not just what you draw” says Carlo Ratti
“Show how you think, not just what you draw. When I review portfolios, the projects that stay with me aren’t always the most polished, but they are the ones that reveal new ideas forming. AI can automate representation but it cannot invent meaning on its own. Start from the strength of your ideas; that’s where humanity still lives.
“We need architects who can connect across disciplines. I like to think of this new figure as a choral architect: someone who designs through coordination, participation and shared intelligence.
“I understand the fatigue. Architecture often turns inward, mistaking its metaphors for reality. But the world is shifting fast; the climate is transforming, populations are changing, resources are vanishing.
“The question isn’t whether architecture will adapt, but how. To borrow Buckminster Fuller’s words, we must be architects of the future, not its victims.”
“Learn to observe. Architecture and design are really about listening to people, to materials, to the histories that live inside a space. Slow down enough to understand why things are built the way they are. That’s where the real education is.
“Build community. Find mentors, collaborate with people outside your discipline, and surround yourself with people who challenge you to grow. No one does this work alone.
“The industry needs designers who aren’t afraid to tell the truth. People who design with purpose, with heart, with culture. We need a generation that’s willing to challenge the old systems, rethink how we build, and create spaces that actually reflect the people living in them. Designers who lead with empathy, curiosity, and conviction – that’s what will move us forward.
“Keep moving, even when the path feels heavy. Every sketch, every mistake, every late night is shaping your voice. Don’t rush it. Let your story rise through the work.”
Martellus
“Never employ experts in full bloom. The true value of a team lies not in hiring those who believe they have already reached their peak, but in cultivating growth, curiosity, and development within your ranks.
“An expert who is still growing brings energy, adaptability, and fresh vision. To build lasting work, surround yourself with people who are becoming, not those who believe they have already become.”
On November 21, the US Department of Education (DOE) announced that it is narrowing its internal definition of “professional degree”. Newly excluded professions, including architecture, will have significantly less access to federal loans through stricter borrowing limits from July 2026.
To become an architect, you will still need a licence, and to get a licence, you will still need to have completed an accredited architecture degree. But there will be less financial help available to you. It is the imposition of yet another barrier to becoming an architect.
Since professionalism was introduced in the 19th century, it has been under political attack from both right and left
This news is devastating. It demonstrates the lack of respect that the MAGA administration has for our profession and ensures that a “professional” architecture education will be ever more exclusive.
At the same time, the news, for the many critical of a discipline that is underpaid and increasingly marginal, it is also welcome. It prompts an overdue discussion about what it means to be an architect and what architecture gains by being a licensed profession.
The learned professions, such as architecture, are characterized by both the extent of required education and the specificity of expertise. They bestow an elite status on those who ascend to their privileges.
Since professionalism was introduced in the 19th century, it has been under political attack from both right and left. Free-market capitalists have viewed the professions as a form of protective collusion – an actual but unrecognized monopoly. Neo-Marxists have viewed professions as a noblesse-obligé-driven division of labor that leads to false class division.
Today, indifferent to the right/left divide, advocates of innovation call for the end of the siloization of knowledge demanded by professional boundaries. More than ever, they say, our political economy needs shared information and collaborative expertise.
In the US, the learned professions have lost their exceptional status. Before the rise of neoliberalism, professions were exempt from antitrust-mandated competition because their codes of ethics, prioritizing social responsibility and quality service, were understood to be inconsistent with the cost-cutting economy.
It is ironic (or not?) that Trumpism has initiated a process that many of us architects want to encourage
In the 1970s, however, the Department of Justice went after the professions, forcing them to operate like traditional businesses and offer competitive pricing. For architecture, this meant the end of fee structures that had traditionally indicated consensus rates for a project’s size, program, and location.
From there, architecture firms’ race to the bottom began, as did the watering down of our supposedly collusional code of ethics. It no longer was viable for architects to serve needs in the built environment that were not supported by capitalism.
Beyond antitrust-enforced competition, the profession of architecture also has not done itself any favors. In reaction to a series of 20th-century lawsuits that positioned architects as responsible for building and planning errors, architecture systematically risk-managed itself away from the liabilities that come with a larger stake in programming and construction.
The professional skills for which architects still want to be recognized – design – are increasingly perceived by the public as frivolous or outperformed by those in adjacent fields. And architects’ valorization of design becomes an excuse to dismiss seemingly gauche concerns for business and money.
It is ironic (or not?) that Trumpism has initiated a process that many of us architects want to encourage: the de-professionalization of architecture. Indeed, we see numerous advantages.
Advantage one: architects would identify as workers, unionize, and support other workers in their struggle against technological displacement and capitalist exploitation. The limited successes of recent attempts to unionize architecture firms underscores architecture’s entrenched loyalty to its patronage-based roots.
Architectural employees would no longer be exempt from the labor board’s overtime pay rules
As long as we see ourselves as a professional class above working class concerns, we give the power and benefit of shaping the material world to a wealthy few, and undermine personal and planetary wellbeing in the process. By reimagining architecture as a diverse and engaged discipline, we build the networks of solidarity needed to distribute agency in the built environment.
Advantage two: architects would be legally allowed to form worker-owned cooperatives. Cooperatives further break architecture’s consolidated power model by enabling profit sharing and expanding representation via collective ownership and decision-making, but they currently are restricted due to state fears about equalizing the status of licensed and unlicensed workers. State licensing boards have a monetary interest in prioritizing licensed over unlicensed workers.
Advantage three: architectural employees would no longer be exempt from the labor board’s overtime pay rules. Because professional roles are deemed to require advanced knowledge, intellectual discretion, originality, and/or ethical judgement – work that does not conform to hourly limits – overtime pay is not required. Architecture, a field notorious for overworking its subordinate personnel for excessive durations at low wages, would have to develop more balanced and efficient approaches to work.
Advantage four: through the availability of more models for practice and exposure to the broader interests of its diversifying practitioners, architecture would reimagine its businesses and find ways to deploy its community-building expertise beyond client-motivated or commission-based projects.
Advantage five: building is a luxury for most Americans. Even among those who can pursue a construction project, hiring an architect is optional. With such limited sources of work, architecture services are undervalued – with little leverage for improvement. Through the expanded deliverables and engagement that de-professionalization would foster, architecture could grow its client base and propel its societal relevance.
Advantage six: architecture education would no longer be dictated by the limiting criteria of professional standards. Architecture schools will be freed to teach through the unique contexts of place, be it neighborhoods, resource networks or land rights.
It’s time to turn the tables and misuse conservative ideals
Advantage seven: the practices and scholarship of the built environment would be able to hybridize, specialize and multiply. An architecture that is no longer understood exclusively as “comprehensive building design” can actively redefine what it means to shape the material world, both by focusing within the discipline and exploring across disciplines.
Advantage eight: with no special status incentivising professional isolation, architects would collaborate more earnestly with planners, urbanists, ecologists, landscape architects, interior designers and others in collective action towards a just and sustainable planetary future, helping them to steward the climate and built environment.
Advantage nine: once architectural expertise is not determined by the (disinterested) state, architects, like pilots, can control their knowledge through industry-determined certification. Architects would gain authority over the terms that describe them – and with that, the ability to evolve with the times.
Advantage 10: architecture education and licensing could be shortened, making entry into the discipline cheaper, more accessible and more diverse. Yes, the DOE judgment puts a cap on the borrowing totals available to those wanting to pursue an architectural education, but a shortening of the qualifying process would more than compensate. Currently, the US demands four more years on average compared to European countries to legally practice architecture.
It’s time to turn the tables and misuse conservative ideals. It’s time to de-professionalize architecture and make it inclusive, relevant and valued.
Andrea Dietz is an architect, researcher and educator. She is assistant professor and program head of design at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at the George Washington University. She is also the co-president of the executive board for advocacy group the Architecture Lobby, the founder of Support Structures, and the co-author of The Organizer’s Guide to Architecture Education (2024).
Peggy Deamer is an architect, researcher and educator. She is a professor of architecture at Yale University, a principal at Deamer, Architects and a founding member of the Architecture Lobby. Her multiple books include Architecture and Capitalism: 1845 to the Present (2014) and Architecture and Labor (2020).
The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) is disheartened, but not surprised, by this act of malice from those seeking to deprofessionalize careers that serve the public good. The United States Department of Education has declared architecture a non-professional degree, severely limiting access to financial aid and government funding. Students working their way through school now face a maximum of $22,500 per year in federal support, a designation that fundamentally undermines the economic viability of pursuing this profession.
As President of NOMA, Bryan C. Lee, Jr feels obliged to stand strongly against these actions while defining a strategy for how we move forward together. We are living through times that feel both disturbingly precedented and unprecedented, poor policy continues to drive harmful outcomes for our communities.
Current students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s degree programs will be most directly impacted by this policy change. While there is no guarantee this reclassification will remain permanent, we must prepare as though it might. As an organization, NOMA must ensure continued access for students across the board to complete their architecture programs over the coming years
In this episode of Black to the Drawing Board, Hampton University Department of Architecture Chair, Daya Irene Taylor, Ph.D., AIA, NOMA, breaks down the federal decision to remove architecture from the “professional degree” loan category — a policy shift with major consequences for Black architecture students, HBCUs, and NAAB-accredited programs. I explain how new student loan caps impact access to architectural education, why Black and first-generation students are disproportionately affected, and what these changes mean for the profession’s future. If you care about architecture, equity, policy, or design justice, this conversation is essential. In this video:
What the new loan caps change
Why architecture is still a licensed profession
How this affects HBCU architecture programs
The impact on Black student access to design fields
Why this is a design justice issue for our communities
Thank you for watching Black to the Drawing Board — a platform centered on truth, access, and illumination. Remember: Glow in the dark, and shine in the light.
The video discusses the recent federal decision to remove architecture from the “professional degree” loan category, which has significant implications for Black architecture students, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and NAAB-accredited programs (1:48).
Key points from the video include:
Impact of new loan caps The federal government’s reclassification means architecture students no longer qualify for the higher federal loan limits available to other professional degrees like medicine, law, dentistry, or pharmacy (1:51-2:21). This places architecture in the same financial category as any general graduate program, despite its demanding licensure requirements (2:21-2:30).
Architecture as a licensed profession The speaker emphasizes that architecture is a profession where licensure is directly tied to the protection of human life, making the reduced financial aid contradictory to its responsibilities (4:21-4:27).
Disproportionate effect on Black students and HBCUs The policy disproportionately affects Black students, who are often first-generation, financially independent caregivers, and may be working multiple jobs (2:48-3:34). HBCUs, which play a crucial role in diversifying the architecture profession, are particularly impacted as their students are now encouraged to take on private loans with higher interest rates or abandon their architectural aspirations (2:57-3:44).
Design justice issue The speaker argues that controlling who can afford to become an architect also controls who shapes the built environment and the future of communities (3:56-4:14). The decision is seen as a “design justice issue” that threatens to shrink professions with the power to transform inequitable systems (3:52-3:56).
Importance of HBCU architecture programs HBCU architecture programs are vital for defending the right of Black and brown students to become architects, ensuring that the built environment reflects the full spectrum of American experience, and promoting public safety, cultural continuity, climate resilience, and community well-being (5:09-5:55). These programs are dedicated to designing justice, creating architects who can listen to communities, challenge systems, and innovate for the future (6:02-6:32).
Loans available to architecture students in the USA will be reduced under the terms of president Donald Trump‘s One Big Beautiful Bill, as architecture will not be considered a professional degree.
Under the terms of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the provision of student loans in the USA will be overhauled starting 1 July, 2026, with borrowing amounts set to be determined by whether a degree is considered professional or not.
Architecture not a “professional degree”
Architects, along with several careers including other nursing and accounting, will not be considered as “professional degrees”, a move that was criticised by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
“The American Institute of Architects strongly opposes any proposal or policy that fails to recognize architects as professionals, particularly when designating which degrees qualify for student loan caps,” said the AIA in a statement.
“The title of ‘architect’ is earned through years of rigorous education, extensive professional examinations, and a demanding licensing process,” it continued.
“To classify otherwise dismisses the expertise, professional standards, and dedication that define the profession.”
Architecture student loans capped at $20,500
The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which will replace all previous loan programs, will see borrowing capped at $20,500 for “graduate students” and $50,000 for “professional students”.
“Beginning on July 1, 2026, the maximum annual amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans – a graduate student, who is not a professional student, may borrow in any academic year or its equivalent shall be $20,500; and a professional student may borrow in any academic year or its equivalent shall be $50,000,” states the bill.
The AIA believes that the changes to borrowing determined by the bill will reduce the number of people who can afford to study architecture.
Cap will reduce number that can study architecture
It stated that it will lobby to change the designation of architecture as a non-professional degree.
“Lowering the loan cap will reduce the number of architects who can afford to pursue this professional degree and harm American leadership in this field,” said the AIA.
“AIA will be actively engaged with policymakers to ensure that the essential role and professional standing of architects are properly recognized in federal policy. We remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the integrity and value of the architectural profession.”
During his second term, Trump is taking an increased interest in architecture. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order to promote classical architecture.
There is no doubt that architecture is one of the most important and impressive forms of art in the world. The buildings and structures that architects create are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also serve a practical purpose.
In this article, we will take a look at several world-famous architects and their most notable works. Each of these architects has made a significant contribution to the field of architecture and has left a lasting legacy.
What is Architecture?
Architecture is the process and/or product of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures.
Architecture is different from landscape architecture. The latter is the design of outdoor spaces, such as parks and gardens. Landscape architects often work with architects to create a unified look for a building and its surroundings.
Architecture is a very important part of our lives. It affects the way we live, work, and play. Good architecture can make us feel happy, comfortable, and safe. Bad architecture can have the opposite effect.
List of The Top World-Famous Architects
Over the centuries, some of the world’s most talented and renowned architects have designed some truly iconic buildings and structures. From classical designs to contemporary masterpieces, these architects have made their mark on history. Let’s take a look at their work!
Intentionality. Persistence. Commitment. These are key actions that come to mind if you ask how architects create institutional change and real diversity within their companies, according to Melvalean McLemore, Anzilla Gilmore, and Zhetique Gunn, the three co-founders of a new professional development program (PDP) for architecture students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The trio are Texas architects and designers who recognized the need for equity in architecture through reframing how designers from HBCUs are viewed by the architecture profession. These women are currently building an accessible network supported by the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) to match AEC firms with diverse architecture students.
